Mise-en-scène

Mise-en-scène (French pronunciation: [mizɑ̃sɛn] "placing on stage") is an expression used to describe the design aspects of a theatre or film production, which essentially means "visual theme" or "telling a story"—both in visually artful ways through storyboarding, cinematography and stage design, and in poetically artful ways through direction. Mise-en-scène has been called film criticism's "grand undefined term".^[1]
When applied to the cinema, mise-en-scène refers to everything that appears before the camera and its arrangement—composition, sets, props, actors, costumes, and lighting.^[2] Mise-en-scène also includes the positioning and movement of actors on the set, which is called blocking. These are all the areas overseen by the director, and thus, in French film credits, the director's title is metteur en scène, "placer on scene."

Key aspects of Mise-en-scène:

Set design 

An important element of "putting in the scene" is set design—the setting of a scene and the objects (props) they're in. Set design can be used to amplify character emotion or the dominant mood of a film, or to establish aspects of the character.

Lighting 

The intensity, direction, and quality of lighting have a profound effect on the way an image is perceived. Light (and shade) can emphasize texture, shape, distance, mood, time of day or night, season, glamour; it affects the way colors are rendered, both in terms of hue and depth, and can focus attention on particular elements of the composition.

Space 

The representation of space affects the reading of a film. Depth, proximity, size and proportions of the places and objects in a film can be manipulated through camera placement and lenses, lighting, set design, effectively determining mood or relationships between elements in the story world.

Costume 

Costume simply refers to the clothes that characters wear. Using certain colors or designs, costumes in narrative cinema are used to signify characters or to make clear distinctions between characters.

Acting 

There is enormous historical and cultural variation in performance styles in the cinema. Early melodramatic styles, clearly indebted to the 19th century theater, gave way in Western cinema to a relatively naturalistic style.

Reception Theory

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Audience Theory

Audience Theory

Click on the image above for a very useful site on audience theory.

This is from Pete Fraser:  Every media product has to have an audience, otherwise in both a business sense and probably an artistic sense too it would be judged a failure. In your projects, you will undoubtedly have been looking at the idea of a target audience- who you are aiming it at and why; you should also have taken feedback from a real audience in some way at the end of the project for your digital evaluation, which involves finding out how the audience really ‘read’ what you had made. You were also asked at AS to consider how your product addressed your audience- what was it about it that particularly worked to ‘speak’ to them? All this is effectively linked to audience theory which you then need to reference and apply.

Nicki Minaj - Postmodern artist

Nicki Minaj on Prezi

Flight of Conchord (Prime Minister season 2, episode 7)

Postmodern elements


-Reference to Cars (film)
-Music video inserts
-Manipulates time and space *Barack Obama lookalike. *80's style cellphone (used by PM)- joke on New Zealand being a backwards nation - also the business cars 'I'm Brian, the prime mister of NZ'
-Elton John - can you feel the love tonight, hold me closer tiny dancer - speaks lyrics
-The real red art garfunkel appears
-The clothes Brett and Jermaine wear are similar to Simon and Garfunkel. Greatest hits ever
-Lookalikes - Bono
-Days are truncated - Days appear on screen (Manipulates time and space)
-Mel's husband Doug is dressed as Brett
-Brett - as Paul Simon at the end of the episode Graceland era Paul Simon
-The Matrix references - THE GLITCH (2 Elton Johns at the end)
-Brett and Jermaine are two actors playing versions of themselves, pretending to be two lookalikes (who don't look like S + G) who pretend to be Simon and Garfunkel.
-NZ only 18 hours from NY - poster


Parody, Bricolage, Hyperreal

Postmodern Media - The Future

-Taking something from original context into a film
e.g. 'Sketch' the toy is being made into a film - already has an audience. Toys used as basis for films.
*Transformers (big budget Hollywood, blockbusters/event movies, multi million $ budgets)
*G.I. Joe (big budget Hollywood, blockbusters/event movies, multi million $ budgets)
*Battleships (big budget Hollywood, blockbusters/event movies, multi million $ budgets)
*Cluedo (low budget, but first shown in cinema)
*Bratz (low budget, but first shown in cinema)
*Action Man
Can reboot sales for the toys again.


-'Obama slow jams the news' - Bricolage, postmodern.
*Mixes something serious with comedy & famous hip hop band.
*Will only he get away with it - do Americans accept the comedic, 'cool' side of Obama?


-'I'm still here' 2010, directed by Casey Affleck starring Joaquin Phoenix.
*Pretend to be in character all the time, is that fair?
*Joaquin Phoenix stayed in character in public the whole time 'I'm still here' was being made.
*Lady Gaga - always in character in public - 'Mother monster, Lil monsters'.
*Eminem (does the same with the person he has created in his music).
*Nicki Minaj - always in character, calls her fans 'Barbz'
Multiple characters personas - creates hyperreal world.
Is it fake?

Hobo with a Shotgun (2011) Dir. Jason Eisener

1. Bricolage - typical grindhouse film - naked women
2. Hyperreality - trapped in the violence.

Homage/Pastiche - of grindhouse movies from the 1970s. - Hobo is reminiscent of films such as 'The exterminor' an exploitation movie about vigilante.

3. Acting/characters - over the top? bad?
- So bad it's good?
- The film sets out to be a bad/trashy film.
- Shocked? Or desensitised to cruelty on screen?

THE FUTURE OF MEDIA

1. Holograms of music stars. What other stars would this work with?
2. Films based of games/toys e.g. Hastro's transformed & Battleships.
3. Trailers of imaginary films being turned into real movies. E.g. Hobo and Machete.

*Deliberately meant to be a bad film
*Humour in the violence? - not a film to be taken seriously
*Effect on a physcological level?
*Typical American western narrative - a person goes into town - kills the bad guys & saves the day - like Drive? The hero is something you can relate to other films. -Bricolage     

• Drake - humorous in a bad way, typical 'bad' character (not realistic) - typical villain music, dark lare atmosphere.
• Music 'burn baby burn' humorous?
• In some parts they've tried to use realistic music in an obvious non realistic film - makes it bad?
• Some link to the Jews with 'The Mob'?
• List of people that The Plague have got rid off is unrealistic - e.g. Jesus.
• Idea of superheroes with 'Abbie' being the wonderwomen, making a speech, women's power? 
• All about a 'show' 
• The Plague - rewriting history?

POSTMODERN?            

• Difficult to call is pomo?           
• Irony - so gory that it's funny
• Humour - 'Bear speech', Lawn mower conversation, Gloryhole, Plague masks, Hobo is funny or is he an entirely serious character dispensing justice vigilnate style.
• Ridiculous - the two violent brothers and Drake
• Unexpected elements - Abbie losing her hand, Hobo dying at the end (heros death is like a trademark though).
• Homage to grindhouse films - harking back to an earlier type of trashy film - wee see the now in technicolour sign at the start of film.

Pastiche 

• Film titles look like they are from the 1980s.
• The music is reminiscent of John Carpernter's soundtracks from films such as Assault on Precienct 13 and Escape from New York.
• The brother's look 80s style.

Bricolage

• Not one genre - comedy/horror/thriller/exploitation/grindhouse.
• The Mob - seen in 50s/60s.
• Horror films such as Frankenstein, Dracula etc.
• Also seen in westerns from the same period.
• The vigilante or lone gun - seen in westerns and films like Rambo/Death Wish
• Similar ending to Drive?
• The TV appearance of Drake - Kickass, Batman Dark Knight.
• Snakes on a Plane? 'I've had it...' - similar to something we've seen before.

Hyperreality

• The octopus
• Distopia - everythings dark, gloomy in the city.
• The human pinata.
• The colour schemes - orange - outside the hospital, blue - the Drake's HQ.
• Characters overcome injuries quickly - Abbie's next wound.
• Bit like Funny Games.
• Subverts conventions.
• Team America speech - link to Abbie's speech.
• Ludicrious in parts.
• Some things are just ridiculous.

Hobo With A Shotgun (2011) Dir. Jason Eisener

Hobo with a Shotgun, directed by Jason Eisener, was initially a fake trailer made for an international contest to promote the release of Quentin Tarantino and Robert Rodriguez's double feature Grindhouse.^[5] It won the contest, and was screened in some areas of Canada as part of the actual release of Grindhouse.^[6] A feature-length version of Hobo With a Shotgun began principal photography in Halifax on April 19, 2010.^[7]
A teaser trailer (including behind-the-scenes and test footage) was released on April 26, 2010.^[8]
It was the second of Grindhouse's fake trailers to be turned into a feature film, the first being Rodriguez's Machete.^[9] David Brunt, who played the homeless man in the trailer, has a cameo appearance in the film as a cop.^[10]

Grindhouse

Grindhouse is a 2007 action-horror/exploitation double feature co-written, produced, and directed byRobert Rodriguez and Quentin Tarantino. The double feature consists of two feature-length segments, Rodriguez's Planet Terror and Tarantino's Death Proof, and is bookended by fictional trailers for upcoming attractions, advertisements, and in-theater announcements. The film's title derives from the U.S. film industry term "grindhouse", which refers to (now mostly defunct) movie theaters specializing in B movies, often exploitation films, shown in a multiple-feature format. The film's ensemble cast includes Rose McGowan, Freddy Rodriguez, Michael Biehn, Jeff Fahey, Josh Brolin, Marley Shelton, Naveen Andrews, Fergie, Bruce Willis, Kurt Russell, Rosario Dawson, Tracie Thoms, Mary Elizabeth Winstead and stuntwoman Zoë Bell.
Rodriguez's segment, Planet Terror, revolves around an outfit of rebels attempting to survive an onslaught of zombie-like creatures as they feud with a rogue military unit, while Tarantino's segment,Death Proof, focuses on a misogynistic, psychopathic stunt man who targets young women, murdering them with his "death proof" stunt car. Each feature is preceded by faux trailers of exploitation films in other genres that were developed by other directors.

Grindhouse definition

A grindhouse is an American term for a theater that mainly shows exploitation films. It is named after the defunct burlesque theaters located on 42nd Street in New York City, where 'bump n' grind' dancing and striptease were featured.^[

How to answer a Postmodern question

These are the previous questions set for this topic:

1. What is meant by ‘postmodern media’?
2. Why are some media products described as ‘postmodern’?
3. Explain how certain kinds of media can be defined as postmodern.
4. Explain why the idea of ‘postmodern media’ might be considered controversial
5. “Postmodern media blur the boundary between reality and representation.” Discuss this idea with reference to media texts that you have studied.
6. Discuss why some people are not convinced by the idea of postmodern media.

So as you will notice, the questions may focus on what postmodernism is and how you apply ideas about it to examples, but also to why there is an argument about the term itself. I suspect if you have studied this topic, you will have been introduced to the debates around it and have the ability to apply definitions to examples, but I'll point you in the direction of some useful material here too.

If we look at the bullet points in the Specification, which defines what should be studied, we should be able to relate them to the questions set so far:

• What are the different versions of post-modernism (historical period, style, theoretical approach)? (first and fourth questions above) 

• What are the arguments for and against understanding some forms of media as post-modern? (possibly all six questions!)

• How do post-modern media texts challenge traditional text-reader relations and the concept of representation? (first, second, third and fifth questions)

• In what ways do media audiences and industries operate differently in a post-modern world? (quite a hard one, maybe a bit of the third and fifth ones) 

The kinds of thing you might use as case studies include:

How post-modern media relate to genre and narrative

computer / video games, virtual worlds, augmented reality and and new forms of representation,
post-modern cinema,
interactive media,
social media and social networking,
reality TV,
music video,
advertising,
post-modern audience theories,
aspects of globalisation,
parody and pastiche in media texts or a range of other applications of post-modern media theory.

It is pretty open in terms of what you might have studied, so I would expect answers to draw upon very different case study material.

This part of the exam asks you to do three more specific things, whatever topic you answer on:

1. You MUST refer to at least TWO different media
2. You MUST refer to past, present and future (with the emphasis on the present- contemporary examples from the past five years)
3. refer to critical/theoretical positions

So for 1. you might compare and contrast examples from film and TV or from games and the web.

For 2. the main thing is to ensure you have a majority of material from the past five years. There were a number of answers last year which were dominated by older examples, so beware of this if you are writing about games or the web, you can be pretty up to date, but the same is true of examples from TV, music video or cinema. This is not to stop you referring to historical examples, just encouraging an emphasis on recent ones. For the point about the future, you could say something about how as we all live more of our lives online, more and more texts take on elements of postmodernism.

For 3. You will hopefully have been introduced to some theory and your teachers will have tried to make it accessible- some key names are Baudrillard and Lyotard and their ideas are summarised quite neatly here

Media Magazine published an excellent article in MM22 about postmodernist texts a couple of years back by Richard Smith:

Mighty boosh and postmodernism copy

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Drive Notes

"Postmodern media manipulates time and space". To what extent does this definition apply to texts you have studied?

Modernism is all about moving forward and postmodern texts came after this and focus on the borrowing of things from the past and intertextual references. In some ways it manipulates time in terms of developing and moving forward and by instead reinforcing the past. This is significantly noticeable in the typical postmodern labelled films such as Inglorious Basterds, where Tarantino tends to demonstrate postmodernism throughout each of his films. Postmodernism tends to display self reflexivity, irony and disputes the boundaries between genres. Due to the intertextual references, postmodern texts are mainly designed to be read by a literate audience who will notice the ‘borrowings’ and be able to identify the similarities from other texts that highlight the fictionality of the text. 

In Inglorious Basterds, there are many postmodern elements that can identified to manipulate time and space. This involves how the film almost plays with reality such as in the beginning scene where one overhead camera shot shows no ceiling, but it then switches to a low angle shot which appears to show that the ceiling is there. This clearly challenges the idea of reality; however postmodernism focuses on reminding the audience that a text is fictional which juxtaposes the approaches of many other films that aim to create an element of reality to connect with the audience. When considering Fiske, an audience may recognize Inglorious Basterds as being a war film because of their cultural knowledge of the concept war film that they have gained from watching others. Because of this, we then wouldn’t find it necessary to look at the intertextual references. However the fact that Inglorious Basterds includes such obvious fictional elements reminds us indeed, that it’s not real.

To some extent the quote ‘Postmodern media manipulates time and space’ can be applied to Inglorious Basterds due to the extensive and diverse borrowings it has within the film. The film manipulates time by using texts from the past in a modern day film which is perhaps what the audience wouldn’t expect due to the constant pressure to move forward in society. In the film ‘The Searchers’ released in 1956, the rememberable ending has been referenced to in Inglorious Basterds at the end of the first chapter. This scene is where a character is framed in a door way and then walks away, which creates a dramatic effect. In some ways this links directly with Inglorious Basterds; however the film manipulated this by stripping the effectiveness created in The Searchers which could perhaps effect our views on that original film. 

In the ‘Projection box’ scene in Inglorious Basterds there are also war elements in terms of the music. The music suggests that something dramatic is going to happen as Frederick walks towards the room that Shosanna is in, allowing the audience to foreshadow. The type of music sounds like it’s from a war film and portrays that some sort of action will follow however in this scene, when Shosanna opens the door the music stops. Then when something does happen, there is no music. Clearly this manipulates ‘normal’ conventions and it decreases the ‘dramatic impact’ usually created which may confuse an audience.  In a traditional war film there is normally less music and more sound effects, i.e. the shooting of guns. However a Tarantino element is that there is extreme violence but much of it is suggested off-screen. Also when Shosanna gets shot, her death seems less brutal and more peaceful which may suggest a romantic element. In some ways her death may seem sad to an audience as she was such a key character, therefore an audience may choose to see her death as romantic or that her ‘mission’ has been completed and she’s at peace. They choose to see it as this is because it is what they want to believe, rather than believing her ‘mission’ had failed. The romantic music in the death scene is an example of contrapuntal music as the means are against the point. The slow motion also emphasises how she was a main character from the beginning therefore it is a ‘tragic’ death and this convention is common in most films. However in a typical film where a character gets pay back, they usually survive to see their revenge. Tarantino is almost challenging the audiences stereotypical views and perspectives and putting it in reality for them that no films are real. The hyperreal elements in the film portrays that the film is not real. We learn very little about the characters even though the film is character led rather than mission led. In some ways this disconnects the audience with the characters as they are not able to connect with the characters and therefore emotion such as sympathy isn’t created. 

In terms of Levi-Strauss One of the most important ‘deletion’ in the film is history. The film rewrites history as Hitler dies differently. Comparing it closely to other war films there are obvious contrasts in elements, for example the film ‘Where Eagles Dare’. Also fear has been taken out for example the scene where Shosanna gets shot juxtaposes the usual elements of a ‘typical’ scene like this as there is romantic music playing. It could be argued that because the film is challenging and questioning an audiences typical views, postmodern media does manipulate time and space because it’s beginning to control how the audience should see the film, instead of making as something they can relate with a lot of open questions. Although an audience is able to freely choose the way they see a film, postmodernism focuses on getting across certain elements to ensure that the audience doesn’t see it as something real. In the future it is obvious that with the rapid expansion of media, postmodern media in particular, will perhaps come to have more control over society. Lyotard's argument of 'the collapse of the grand narratives' suggests that traditional views held by traditional movement is now disappearing. Postmodernism often opposes ideas of Good vs Evil. For example there's fear in the film 'Saving Private Ryan'; however in 'Inglorious Basterds' there's no fear in anything they do. Clearly the quote ‘Postmodern media manipulates time and space’ can be applied to an extent in Inglorious Basterds in terms of the borrowing; however postmodern media cannot be critised alone for manipulating time and space as no texts can be redeemed original in some aspects due to the creator using or being inspired from already existing ideas. In terms of films, each film has a genre and this is a shared genre. Each film has the ability to portray the past, present and future and each film is able to control how an audience may view a film, in terms of feelings, sympathy created etc. This can further be applied to music where Jonathan Kramar media theorist states one of sixteen characteristics ‘does not respect boundaries between sonorities and procedures of the past and of the present’. I feel that the quote highlights the little limitations postmodernism has and the ability it has to expand through using borrowings from other texts and manipulating the audience. It’s recreating what we perhaps redeem is normal and is able to change what society has become comfortable in believing in, to something new. Although that seems arguable when postmodernism involves borrowing things from the past. 

Postmodern texts offer the viewer a different perspective. In a postmodern world the media audience will view a postmodern text differently to other texts as they are picking up on the familiarization's and the intertextual references, which indeed indicate the fictional aspect of the text. This can be applied to the film ‘The Matrix’ which focuses on challenging to audience to define ‘reality’. However the intertextuality references such as those ‘Wizard of Oz’ and ‘Alice in Wonderland’ highlight the that the film is fictional and these references are easily recognisable. A non literate audience may perhaps try to relate a text to reality which is where phrases such as ‘it was like a movie’ come from. The realization that media is beginning to become closely related to being ‘the reality’ to some people is overpowering and postmodernism perhaps brings the audience ‘back to reality’ through the impact of fictional elements. With postmodernism expanding it suggests that this ‘made up from a movie’ society will then be able to realise what is real and what is not. I feel the media industries operate differently in a postmodern world as they are trying to create and achieve a different, yet strangely, ‘unoriginal’ effect as to those other media industries that focus on moving forward. Postmodernists know what their trying to achieve which is why postmodern elements in films are easily picked out, just like in Inglorious Basterds.

Define Postmodern, with examples.

Postmodernism is a label given to Cultural forms since the 1960s that came after modernism and follows our shift from being an industrial society to that of an information society. Modernism looks forward whereas postmodernism looks back and borrows from other texts to construct new texts that withhold many references. Postmodern texts tend to display self reflexivity, irony and they also challenge the boundaries between genres and the mass media. They are usually designed to be read by a literate audience that will notice the ‘borrowings’ and ‘transformation’ of other texts and intertextual references which clearly portray the fact that it is fictional.

Postmodern films place the audience in a different seat to that of another film by presenting to them something they perhaps wouldn’t expect. They challenge the audience to see the film from a different perspective and do so by deliberately playing with meaning and using humour in a mocking way. A postmodern theorist Frederic Jameson sees postmodern as something that’s ‘trapped in circular references and is nothing more than a series of ‘jokes’ which have no deeper meaning or purpose’. In terms of literature and media, postmodernism is generally considered to be anything which makes little attempt to hide the fact that it is not real and this can be presented in numerous ways. Anything postmodern wants you to recognize elements from elsewhere to show that there are no new or original ideas. As an audience, you are challenged to distinguish reality and fiction and postmodern films mock the way the viewer relates movies to real life. A postmodernist film describes the expression of ideas of postmodernism through cinematic medium. Postmodernist films don’t oblige to the ‘what seems normal’ conventions of narrative structure and thus create the feeling of disbelief.

There is great importance placed on portraying that a text is fictional through being both controversial and including many intertextual references which differentiates postmodern texts from other texts. An example of this is the postmodern Tarantino film, Inglorious Basterds released in 2009, which challenges mass media through representing the idea of war in a different and non serious way to other films that share the same genre. The film uses the postmodern elements of parody, homage and pastiche. It takes a difference approach to what may be considered as the mainstream conventions of a war film as it places less importance on the narrative; the Nazi war. The approach it takes is careless and comedic and postmodernism is renowned in doing such a thing with sensitive subjects.

The non war elements may not be noticed by an audience due to the characters such as Hitler which instantly connotes war. However this film takes a postmodern approach through challenging the boundaries of the war genre by contrasting those ‘stereotypical’ judgements of war films that we have created ourselves by watching other media texts. This is overall done through the fairytale elements to the film, the informality of the chapters, the comedic elements and the deletion of history, i.e. Hitler’s death which perhaps suggests postmodernism has no concern for historical correctness and deletes areas of history. In a future perspective this may suggest that with the expansion of postmodernism correspondent with technology, the deletion of history will become of little concern as we are now rewriting it in a humorous manner? This may be due to new generations, new fashions, new socialect and possibly new interests.
An example of ‘borrowing’ is the beginning of Inglorious Basterds which starts with ‘Once upon a time’ which is transformation when considering Levi-Strauss. This classic opening of fairytales is recognizable, therefore reminds the audience that the film is not real. Such a borrowing comes across shocking due to the fact fairytales are written for younger children, yet Inglorious Basterds is rated as an 18. Not only does this film grasp how the limitations of postmodern are little but it shows the diversity in postmodern films as they redeem it acceptable to mix such contrasting genres.

In the beginning scene one overhead camera shot shows no ceiling, but then it switches to a low angle shot which appears to show that the ceiling is there. This element again reminds the audience that it isn’t in fact, reality which juxtaposes the approaches of many other films that aim to create an element of reality to connect with the audience as this is what creates repeat viewing. A further intertextual reference is the Italian/Spanish spaghetti western element copied from the film ‘The Good, the Bad and the Ugly’.  It appears that postmodernism strives from parody and perhaps it uses the effect of creating audience recognition of the imitation of style, character, and scenario to create viewings as the audience enjoy the process of familiarization.

The postmodernism element of using parody humour can be applied to the cartoon program ‘Family Guy’ which is known for it’s careless approach. The program has too, touched the subject of Hitler and War through homage and pastiche. For example, the scene of Hitler and Eva. This use of humour and irony links it with the postmodern film Inglorious Basterds which also offers a postmodern element of parody of Nazi’s. As well as Hitler being an example, there is also the continuously prestige looking Brad Pitt which again acts as a reminder that the film isn’t real. These links portray how postmodernism exaggerates the idea of copying and intertextuality. Such an approach challenges you to distinguish reality and fiction and clearly contrasts our stereotypical, or what could be described as reality views of what War is actually like. For example when compared with Saving Private Ryan, the contrasts in terms of War elements are clearly noticeable. For example the deletion of fear in Inglorious Basterds. However again such views can be argued to be shaped by other films so the questioning of what is real continues! 

Aside from this, postmodernism doesn’t want you to view it as being any more or less valid or important than a text which pretends to be real. Postmodernists argue that every reading of a text is determined by each viewer. This is similar to Barthes ‘Death of the Author’ theory in which he says  'Each member of an audience has different readings, all which are correct and the intended meaning by the producer is no longer significant'. Postmodern texts aren’t just constructed to withhold one meaning; there is a lot more impact into how a text looks. A postmodern film in which this theory can be applied to is ‘Drive’, released in 2011. The film feels like a dream and it is left open so that we, the audience, can construct our own meaning. This relation to the dream is suggested through the films setting; a city with little people in it and in dreams there’s also little presence of people as it’s personal and our minds can’t quite create that. This post modern genre and narrative can also relate to the post modern video game ‘Grand Theft Auto’ in terms of Baudrillard’s theory of hyperreality. The game is a constructed world that lacks both music and people. There is no presence of police and the location is dream like and empty. This highlights how postmodernism plays on and mocks stereotypes of gender, culture, genre and many more. The ability to apply postmodernism to further media outlets suggests that it may possibly expand further in the future.

A theoretical approach to postmodern media is Baudrillard’s idea of hyperreality. Baudrillard suggests that the world we live in has been replaced by a copy world, where we seek simulated stimuli and nothing more. A film which this can be applied to is ‘The Matrix’ where we are questioned to distinguish fantasy and reality and again the film adheres the postmodern feature of leaving open questions to the audience. Hyperreality is a means to characterize the way of what we are aware is "real" in a world where media is now able to shape and filter an original event or experience. 

Another postmodern element that can be applied to ‘The Matrix’ is bricolage which is the mixing up of different genres and styles. For example there is the continuous reference to Alice in Wonderland with direct quotes and imagery taken from the film itself, for example ‘follow the rabbit’. As well as this there are direct quotes taken from the ‘Wizard of Oz’ for example, ‘You’re not in Kansas anymore’. Not only does this portray the flexible approach to postmodern films in terms of mixing genres, but it reminds us clearly that the film is fictional by using quotes from fictional films. This links with theorist Jacques Derrida who proposed that a text ‘cannot belong to no genre, it cannot be without a genre. Every text participates in one or several genres, there is no genreless text.’ In the Matrix there is a clear mixture of action, adventure, sci-fi, fantasy and fairytale which may confuse an audience on one hand, but on the other is may present the possibilities of mixing genres which in turn may present how something new then can be made, overcoming this idea of ‘nothing is original’. A criticism of postmodernism is that fact it represents a decline in originality; however it is perhaps arguable that by bringing in lots of existing features to create a ‘new’, ‘different’ idea can be labelled as being original by the creator.

Another key concept of postmodernism is Simulacra and Simulation which is most known for its discussion of images, signs, and how they relate to the present day. Baudrillard claims that modern society has replaced all reality and meaning with symbols and signs, and that the human experience is of a simulation of reality rather than reality itself and this is supported by our grown reliance on the media and technology (e.g. texting on phones). The simulacra that Baudrillard refers to are signs of culture and media that create the perceived reality; Baudrillard believed that society has become so reliant on simulacra that it has lost contact with the real world on which the simulacra are based. This again can be linked with the idea proposed in ‘The Matrix’ which suggests what we believe is the real world, is nothing but a cover up of the real reality. Baudrillard's idea of hyperreality was heavily influenced by phenomenology, semiotics, and Marshall McLuhan who coined the phrase 'the medium is the message'. By this he means that the approach in which the message is shown becomes more important than the meaning of the message itself. This is applicable to the McDonald's ‘M’ symbol that instantly tells us that there is a McDonalds; however the letter ‘M’ actually represents nothing.

Overall this again highlights how postmodern proposes the concept that nothing is original and everything is a mixture of intertextuality and bricolage. Society can be argued as being made up from other representations and media. It almost suggests that our knowledge of society and what happens in it is made up from media texts as we tend to refer to a ‘real life’ situation as something thats ‘like a movie’ even though the movie isn’t real. When considering postmodern theorist Fiske, an audience may recognize such films like, Inglorious Basterds as being a war film because of all the other war films they have seen and will relate it to; however they may have never experienced war before themselves. Our cultural knowledge of the concept of a ‘war film’ (that we have gained from other war films) portrays to us that it is a war film; therefore we then wouldn’t find it necessary to look at intertextual references. The soldiers, weapons, the mission, and the characters (Hitler, Churchill) are elements that make us create the link with the war film. However how do we know that it’s real? Postmodernism creates a feeling of disbelief when a person then comes to realise that the movie isn’t actually something they could relate to as being real. 

Postmodern media has also highly influenced many aspects of the media culture. Many of the sophisticated visual puns used by advertising media can be defined as postmodern. Postmodern texts will employ techniques such as bricolage, and will use images and ideas in a way that is completely different to their original function. Postmodernism effects the way we see, develop and engage with the media which suggests that people will begin to see media texts from different perspectives. It questions an audience’s view and creates the feeling of disbelief. As technology develops, it encourages new ways in how we engage with media. It rejects the traditional idea of art replicating reality and states a huge emphasis on reality being a constructed fiction and this combined with the idea of nothing is original makes us come to realise that our media world is just running in circular movements and the prospect of nothing being ‘new’ can be daunting. This relates to such theorist Brian Eno who suggests ‘there are just too many styles around, and they keep mutating too fast to assume that kind of dominance and this applies to all aspects of our culture, music, films, art, pictures, magazines, where nothing can be considered original.’ The development of media suggests that the postmodernism will also expand which could overall possibly change or adapt what the society views are now. However such a thing is not completely liable as not everyone actually agrees with postmodernism. Aside from this, the overall prospect of postmodernism expanding may perhaps, no longer allow us to describe something we see, watch or hear as like a film. 

Jean Baudrillard: Simulacra and Simulation

Simulacra and Simulation (Simulacres et Simulation in French) is a philosophical treatise by Jean Baudrillard that discusses the interaction between reality, symbols and society.
“ The simulacrum is never that which conceals the truth--it is the truth which conceals that there is none. The simulacrum is true.[1] ”

Simulacra and Simulation is most known for its discussion of images, signs, and how they relate to the present day. Baudrillard claims that modern society has replaced all reality and meaning with symbols and signs, and that the human experience is of a simulation of reality rather than reality itself. The simulacra that Baudrillard refers to are signs of culture and media that create the perceived reality; Baudrillard believed that society has become so reliant on simulacra that it has lost contact with the real world on which the simulacra are based.

Exam Questions

Exam questions

'Postmodern media manipulates time and space". To what extent does this definition apply to texts you have studied? (50 marks)

Define postmodern media, with examples. (50 marks)

• Comment on how postmodernism may change in the future. Refer to theory and apply simply.
• Relate to postmodern theory, then express it. - Homage, pastiche, intertextuality.
• 'Each member of an audience have different readings, all which are correct and the intended meaning by the producer is no longer significant' is Barthes 'Death of the Author' theory. Postmodernists do not construct texts for one meaning, they place more impact on how a text looks, than the meaning of it.
• Drive feels like a dream and it is left open so that we construct our own meaning. (City with no people - in dreams there's little people as it's personal and our minds can't quite create that).
• Binary opposites 'Good vs Evil'.
• Drive links to Grand Theft Auto - Hyperreal - lack of music and people. - No presence of police. Location is dream like and empty - golden, yellow and orange lighting.
• Lyotard's argument of 'the collapse of the grand narratives'. Traditional views held by traditional movement is now disappearing. Postmodernism often opposes ideas of Good vs Evil. For example there's fear in the film 'Saving Private Ryan'; however in 'Inglorious Basterds' there's no fear in anything they do.

Appling Jonathan Kramer: postmodern music theory to songs

1. is not simply a repudiation of modernism or its continuation, but has aspects of both a break and an extension

The Vaccines - If You Wanna

A modern song is almost an extension of an older song such as the Rock genre however has aspects that create it to be considered modern; however it would still been redeemed 'normal' if played during the time of the older song release.
The song by The Vaccines is modern song, however the beat is has throughout has the rock/indie elements that create the break from older Rock songs, but the tone of voice in which they sing adds the original soft rock elements. 

14. encompasses pluralism and eclecticism

Lady Gaga - Alejandro


The song interprets/consists and is made up from many genres.
During the beginning of the song before the main music comes in, a violin is played suggesting a Spanish/ sombrero/Mexican theme and genre. At 2:04 Lady Gaga then speaks with a put on Latin voice which is interpreting another genre. At 2:15 the main music kicks in with a Pop genre sound which is mixed with a Techno sound common throughout the rest of the song.

Jonathan Kramer: postmodern music theory

Media Theorist Jonathan Kramer says "the idea that postmodernism is less a surface style or historical period than an attitude. Kramer goes on to say 16 "characteristics of postmodern music, by which I mean music that is understood in a postmodern manner, or that calls forth postmodern listening strategies, or that provides postmodern listening experiences, or that exhibits postmodern compositional practices." 
According to Kramer (Kramer 2002, 16–17), postmodern music":

1. is not simply a repudiation of modernism or its continuation, but has aspects of both a break and an extension
2. is, on some level and in some way, ironic
3. does not respect boundaries between sonorities and procedures of the past and of the present
4. challenges barriers between 'high' and 'low' styles
5. shows disdain for the often unquestioned value of structural unity
6. questions the mutual exclusivity of elitist and populist values
7. avoids totalizing forms (e.g., does not want entire pieces to be tonal or serial or cast in a prescribed formal mold)
8. considers music not as autonomous but as relevant to cultural, social, and political contexts
9. includes quotations of or references to music of many traditions and cultures
10. considers technology not only as a way to preserve and transmit music but also as deeply implicated in the production and essence of music
11. embraces contradictions
12. distrusts binary oppositions
13. includes fragmentations and discontinuities
14. encompasses pluralism and eclecticism
15. presents multiple meanings and multiple temporalities
16. locates meaning and even structure in listeners, more than in scores, performances, or composers

Jonathan Donald Kramer (December 7, 1942, Hartford, Connecticut – June 3, 2004, New York City), was a U.S. composer and music theorist. 

Active as a music theorist, Kramer published primarily on theories of musical time and postmodernism. At the time of his death he had just completed a book on postmodern music and a cello composition for the American Holocaust Museum.

Is The Matrix postmodern?

clip one (Alice in Wonderland). http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kdAMq5LdAvs

clip two (Superman). http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Hy6S7urCZM

Planning for The Matrix project

Some Alice in Wonderland references ...


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kdAMq5LdAvs (won't let me embed)


and also...

Postmodernism and Music

The postmodern sensibility that anything can be considered cool in an ironic ‘I know it’s bad, but it’s so bad it’s good way’.

I feel this point refers to a person’s guilty pleasure for a song, where they initially ‘hate‘ it when first viewing it, but the song then grows on them due to the chosen features to it being ‘catchy’. This may include the style and beat of the music, the video and possibly the artist (whereby the artist’s fans would stay loyal however horrendous the song). As an example, the song by LMFAO, has most probably been frown upon by many people, however the catchy tune, lyrics and video is what creates the fan base. As well as this, the idea of the song being humorous makes it popular as many people will be replicating the song, but in a humorous manner and through this the song then becomes a popular hit as it will be seen as ‘one of those songs’. in the video there is also the iconic dance moves which people may replicate, and this is common throughout LMFAO songs. A reason for them ding this could possibly be due to their music having a ‘love or hate it‘ approach which is my people may refer to it as a ‘guilty pleasure‘; therefore they must ensure they’re gaining fans. On the other hand a person may use the ‘I know it’s bad, but it’s so bad it’s good‘ as an excuse. As an example a person may genuinely enjoy a song that a majority of people repel, therefore to avoid embarrassment, they use the ironic phrase. 

Work that is created based (entirely or in part) on older material. This incorporates sampling and will take you from the realms of hip hop culture transporting you finally in today’s modern fragmented musical landscape. You will have to listen to some of the artists to fully appreciate them and their work

I feel this is referring to how some artists ‘use’ or ‘copy’ elements from already existing songs whether this be the music or the lyrics. Many artists are criticized for ‘copying’ other artists such as Lady Gaga ‘apparently’ copying Madonna. Music becomes post modern because existing elements are being incorporated into something more modern. However it is most likely possible to apply every modern song to some aspects of old songs such as the style or music, suggesting that songs are no longer original and everything evolves around in a circle. For example certain fashions and tastes tend to come back around. It is also a lot harder to create something new without having any influences by other artists. As an example the Black Eyed Pea’s song ‘The Time’ includes the classic lyrics ‘I’ve had the time of my life’ that have been directly copied. The lyrics and tune is well known from the film Dirty Dancing and it is sung by Bill Medley and Jennifer Warnes. The song has been modernized by mixing two genres together to create a song that appeals to a ‘modern’ audience.








Audiences that are both niche and mainstream. E.g.: Radio 1, 1xtra, BBC6, XFM

I feel this may apply to the playlists of radio stations and the particular person on the radio. Stations such as capital play music that is currently in the charts which is determined by how many times the track is bought. However some artists that are aimed at niche audiences do also get played on mainstream radio. As an example, Ben Howard’s ‘The Wolves’.





The ways in which people engage and listen to music. E.g.: iPod, DAB, mobile phones etc. 

The ways people can engage and listen to music has much advanced from ways such as vinyls. The technological change has allowed people to engage in music wherever they want, such as iPods where you can listen to music ‘on the go’ has become increasingly popular. The more advanced ways allows people greater access to music such as quick downloads rather than going out and buying a hard copy disk which possibly has increased music sales. There are also programs such as ‘Spotify’ where you can create your own playlist making it personal for the individual.

The legal issues surrounding sampling. (Led Zeppelin ‘borrowed’ heavily from old bluesmen and it took years for the songwriters to be credited and paid royalties. The same group took a hard-line stance initially to be sample by hip hop groups).

There is a lot of criticism amongst modern artists for supposedly ‘copying’ or ‘borrowing’ other artists music or lyrics and some artists pay the original artist for using their material. Although it seems fair to do so, surely the original artist copied another artist before them? Therefore is the dramatic problem these artists and the media make sometimes really necessary or fair when considering that everyone has to look at previous work to gain inspiration, guidance or influence? If taken too far, it may result in an endless battle to who is the original! An example is Lady Gaga’s copying of Madonna’s work. 

The state of the music industry incorporating any recent developments that change how we access/interact with music e.g.: Spotify, X factor, iTunes, illegal downloading, free cds with newspapers etc.

The movement of the music industry due to technology has transformed the way we can now listen, get hold of and keep music. Technology has made getting music more convenient for us as we can now download and stream music without leaving our own homes. I feel that the advances of the technology have improved the amount of music we are presented to for example, every shop you walk into has iPods playing music throughout the shop and also programs on TV such as X factor. Technology has allowed for music to become more personal to the individual as they can create their own playlists and buy songs out of albums without owning the whole album. However the disadvantages are the availability to illegally download and although you can create your own playlists, the reliance of it being on a computer gets rid of the personal ownership gained from CDs and vinyls etc.